{"id":213768,"date":"2026-03-19T14:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=213768"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:46:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:46:41","slug":"top-5-wrestlemania-builds-of-all-time-did-the-first-wrestlemania-make-the-cut-what-about-the-attitude-era-and-john-cena-headlined-events-compared-to-todays-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/03\/19\/top-5-wrestlemania-builds-of-all-time-did-the-first-wrestlemania-make-the-cut-what-about-the-attitude-era-and-john-cena-headlined-events-compared-to-todays-era\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP 5 WRESTLEMANIA BUILDS OF ALL TIME: Did the first WrestleMania make the cut? What about the Attitude Era and John Cena-headlined events compared to today&#8217;s era?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3354899756\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Being a full time entrepreneur has me busier than having two jobs! Well, that and an E.R. visit left me with no time to write. I should be back to weekly from here, as I think Wednesdays will allow me some time to sit and focus on my articles each week.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania Builds<\/h3>\n<p>I have heard a little more this year than in previous years about the lack of build this WrestleMania is feeling. A few of the reasons used have been injuries, stale characters on top, and creative shake-ups. I don\u2019t know if any of those are valid. I\u2019m not a member of the creative team and don\u2019t pretend to know what I don\u2019t know. I do know that ice cream and cake tasted better as a kid, and not every build has been perfect. We not only reminisce, but we don\u2019t have the ability to look back on the larger impact.<\/p>\n<p>After what was pretty unanimously agreed upon to be a bad finish to last year\u2019s WrestleMania, we as fans want to know we won\u2019t be disappointed again. We want to be able to anticipate a great show, then have a memorable payoff.<\/p>\n<p>Today I thought I\u2019d write about five shows which accomplished that.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania I<\/h3>\n<p>This was the do or die show. If this didn\u2019t have the proper build up, the show would not have been successful in tickets sold for the live gate and the closed circuit tickets at the time. Conversely, the build could have all gotten them into their seats, but if the show was a stinker, there would have been a significant downturn in business. The legend told on WWE DVD documentaries is that Bobby Henan went up to Vince McMahon after the show and said, \u201cHere\u2019s to WrestleMania 2.\u201d That couldn\u2019t have happened without everything going well.<\/p>\n<p>The Rock &#8216;n&#8217; Wrestling era when wrestling was associated with MTV at the time is easy to discount to today\u2019s audiences. MTV in the &#8217;80s was a cultural juggernaut and was influencing teens and 20s much to the frustrations of the conservative parents and preachers of the era. It made the WWF\u2019s style of cartoon play fighting cool. Cyndi Lauper was akin to a Sabrina Carpenter or Billie Eilish of today, and her involvement grabbed eyeballs. Those eyeballs saw this man in the main event named Hulk Hogan.<\/p>\n<p>Hulkamania had been taking the wrestling world by storm already in St. Paul, Minn. in the AWA, then went national with WWF television. Here he was being introduced to a new audience, and he\u2019s teaming with Clubber Lang and B.A. Baracus himself in Mr. T. The bouncer turned cultural phenomenon, cartoon character, and lover of mothers was another attention grabbing attraction.<\/p>\n<p>When the match happened, so many new fans were introduced to a new cast of characters on the undercard. Windy Richter won the WWF Women\u2019s Championship on behalf of Cyndi Lauper making the crowd happy. In the main event, you had the stars in Hogan and Mr. T, but the opponents and other cast of characters played important parts as well. This was a bouncer turned actor, turned wrestler. It was going to take a cast with smoke and mirrors around him, and with Roddy Piper, a hated villain at the time, and top level talent in his own right leading his team, the crowd and the performance was set. Add to Piper his tag partner of Paul Orndorf plus Bob Orton being featured at ringside, as well as &#8220;Superfly&#8221; Jimmy Snuka accompanying the opposition, it delivered and we still talk about the card that started it all.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3754598983\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of &#8220;PWTorch &#8217;90s Pastcast&#8221; with Patrick Moynahan and Alex McDonald, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/pwtorch-90s-pastcast-moynahan-mcdonald-discuss-pwtorch-newsletter-378-3-9-96-incl-letters-responding-to-keller-s-vince-interview--70617481\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cwade keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PWTorch \u201890s Pastcast - Moynahan &amp; McDonald discuss PWTorch Newsletter #378 (3-9-96) incl. letters responding to Keller\u2019s Vince interview\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=70617481&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania V<\/h3>\n<p>Hulk Hogan was head and shoulders the biggest name in wrestling at the time. So big in fact, they were going to make a movie starring the Hulkster. While away, another man was going to have to fill those shoes. The man chosen was The Macho Man Randy Savage.<\/p>\n<p>A flashy star who helped introduce a newer and faster style to singles matches to a WWF fan at the time along with Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III. Savage\u2019s impact is till felt today, and it was putting him in as the winner of the WrestleMania IV tournament that elevated him to main event status. When Hogan came back, they teamed up. Matching colors and Miss Elizabeth coming to ringside with the pair, they were deemed The Mega Powers. After a nearly year long story unfolded, the Mega Powers exploded and it all came to a head at WrestleMania V.<\/p>\n<p>Savage, who saw the lust in Hogan\u2019s eyes, changed back into his more comfortable heel character. The explosion culminated in a match at WrestleMania V, where Hogan, everyone\u2019s hero, took Macho Man down and humbled him after Randy snapped.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania 21<\/h3>\n<p>Wrestling fans, sometimes to a detriment, crave new. WrestleMania 21 was definitely a mark of a new era of what WWE wanted its presentation to be. On Smackdown, there was this young upstart, John Cena. He had a fire run with the U.S. Championship, leveled himself up, and was bound for the main event. John Bradshaw Layfield was a bridge to a new era, and Cena was the choice. It was Rural vs. City, Country vs. Hip-Hop. Cena came up, lost a U.S. Title to one of JBL\u2019s cabinet in Orlando Jordan, so he went after the head and took out John.<\/p>\n<p>On Raw, the true main event of the show was centered around the belt Triple H wore. Evolution had a split up story that started with a power-hungry Triple H after Summerslam. Batista was noticing everything in the background and when given the option of which title to chase at the big show, he chose his mentor. After winning each respective title, each were treated as big deals. They didn\u2019t lose the titles six months later, or hold the titles while older talent took the final match while new champions proved themselves.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania 30<\/h3>\n<p>This was the WrestleMania that wasn\u2019t meant to be. It was set to be the returning star of Batista taking on his old Evolution teammate Randy Orton. The problem was, the crowd was very vocal in not wanting to see that match. There had been new guys working very hard to become main event players. C.M. Punk, Matt Cardona as Zack Ryder, Claudio Castignolli as Cesaro, and Bryan Danielson had been reaching for a \u201cbrass ring,\u201d as Vince McMahon used to refer to it as, for years. C.M. Punk is given his title run, but wasn\u2019t main eventing PPV cards at the time. Danielson had his title run destroyed with a single boot by Sheamus a year earlier. Fans didn\u2019t want to see a returning star from another era come back in his skinny jeans, too good for wrestling, Hollywood self. Unfair to Batista or not, we wanted new.<\/p>\n<p>WWE\u2019s hand ended up being forced. It made for a much better build than we would have had with two older acts who weren\u2019t quite nostalgia acts yet. They ended up making the right call, and having to overcome a match with Triple H in the opening, then a triple threat that he was added to. In that match, he won over both Batista and Randy Orton, sending the crowd home happy. Which became especially important after seeing their hero, The Undertaker, lose his streak earlier in the night.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3515119291\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>WrestleMania 39\/40<\/h3>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a more perfect wrestling story. A kid who wanted to fill his father\u2019s and older brother\u2019s shoes. Not only did he want to be a big star in the big company, he wanted to be the biggest star and be the one who won that company\u2019s title belt. His road to achieve that led to him leaving the company in order to prove himself. He would start up the new competition, then having a fallout there, he left. That was when the prodigal son returned. And it was a big deal. I was actually in the building that night, and it was a merch explosion for The American Nightmare, and the lines were long for it.<\/p>\n<p>He spent a year earning his big moment, to headline a WrestleMania and claim what wasn\u2019t his birthright, but something he earned on his own merit. In that moment, the WWE Universe was left in shock when the expected winner was told to take a lap. He passed Go, and collected no $200. It was the end of &#8220;Empire Strikes Back,&#8221; minus Roman bring Cody\u2019s father. Our hero took the loss. And it was a good move. It gave Cody a year to slay more dragons, including Brock Lesnar in a trilogy of matches that helped establish Cody as a hard working wrestler, but also as a tougher man who deserved another chance. That chance gave us my favorite moment in my watching 34 years of watching wrestling, the WrestleMania 40 win.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to <a href=\"http:\/\/nerdstalgia.shop\">http:\/\/nerdstalgia.shop<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pro Wrestling Then and Now - WrestleMania XI\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8Bt5__3Zr2c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2964535816\"><div id=\"pwtor-974380328\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Being a full time entrepreneur has me busier than having two jobs! Well, that and an E.R. visit left me with no time to write. I should be back to weekly from here, as I <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/03\/19\/top-5-wrestlemania-builds-of-all-time-did-the-first-wrestlemania-make-the-cut-what-about-the-attitude-era-and-john-cena-headlined-events-compared-to-todays-era\/\" title=\"TOP 5 WRESTLEMANIA BUILDS OF ALL TIME: Did the first WrestleMania make the cut? What about the Attitude Era and John Cena-headlined events compared to today&#8217;s era?\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,27,4488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","category-top-five-lists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/WM32_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213769,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213768\/revisions\/213769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}